Andre Ware to Johnny Manziel on heels of video: ‘Tone it down’

COLLEGE STATION – Johnny Manziel and former Texas A&M teammate Ryan Swope are featured in a new Granger Smith video, which debuted on ESPN’s College Football Live today. Good stuff, and here’s the video.

But it was what happened afterward that mainly caught my ears. CFL host Andre Ware, the 1989 Heisman Trophy winner from Houston, advised Manziel to “tone it down” in the offseason (again, he’s advised that before).

Here are some of Ware’s latest opinions of Aggieland’s Most Interesting Man, and the 2012 Heisman winner:

* “If I’m his teammate, and it’s almost human nature, that somebody, someone on the team is starting to resent seeing Johnny Manziel like this. ‘I know I’m working, is he working? Can he be working as hard as I am each and every day to prepare for the season, so we can put ourselves in a position to win the national championship? Are you doing it at baseball games when you’re throwing out the first pitch, and how much work did you put in when you were working on this video?’ I’m not sure that he’s done a well enough job in the offseason to really calm things down.”

* “As a quarterback of a football team, you’re already elevated, and as the face of the program the microscope is on you, and you’re going to get the publicity. You almost have to fit in. You almost have to calm that stuff down to let the guys know you’re one of them, you’re still with the team, so they can play hard for you week in and week out. I’m not sure he’s done a good enough job of that in the offseason. … Everything seems to come with some publicity. Tone it down. …”

Ware’s co-host countered that Manziel is simply a college kid “having a good time.”

“Play a bad game or two,” Ware responded, “and see if you still have that attitude.”